An interesting looking saya with embellishments

[KB1107]

Hello all,

 

I picked up this tanto a few weeks ago and I’ve finished working on it to post a few pics. I didn’t buy this piece because of the blade… I mainly purchased it because of the saya (I know I’m crazy). The reason being… somebody at some point put several coats of polyurethane on top of the original finish. It was thick, clumpy, and very uneven. A part of my collecting is trying to restore pieces that have been tampered with. This was no exception… well this is how it looks after removing the poly and smoothing it out.

 

So… my question is, the three embellishments towards the top. Does anybody have an educated guess of what they are? They’re raised a little bit and I’m somewhat baffled as to what they might be. I’ve asked a few of my sword friends and they don’t know either… thus the reason I’m posting here. The saya appears to be pieced together with several different types of skins (several seams noticeable). It’s definitely an odd piece… and very beautiful in person.

 

The blade itself appears old and dark stains… nakago unsigned. The tsuka is basic with basic fittings. Now the tsuba has me at a loss as well… I’m leaning if towards it’s a Chinese fake. It looks that it’s made out of wood or composite material? It looks as somebody attempted to match the fitting color on the tsuka. The tsuba does have some weight to it. Any ideas on this piece would be appreciated too.

[John C]

I believe the lacquering technique here, is called kawari-nuri. All manner of things (particularly bits of abalone shell) could be used. Could yours be a type of sliced shell?

I also think the tsuba may be horn. 

 

John C.

[KB1107]

33 minutes ago, John C said:

Ahhhhhhhhhh…. Thank you! Both make complete sense to me. Horn and shell… didn’t even cross my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen horn used for a tsuba. Interesting…..

[1kinko]

The topmost "embellishments" look a lot like sturgeon scutes (equivalent of scales on bony fish). Crocodilians have similar but thicker scutes, largely on their backs.

[KB1107]

Thanks for the replies…

 

Are these embellishments common to see on sayas? A sword friend of mine thinks it could be bone as well.

 

i googled horn tsuba and one immediately popped up that looks similar to the one shown in my post. I’m confident that John C hit the nail on the head! The one I saw on-line is from the 19th century… maybe a cheap alternative to an iron/steel tsuba. Again, thank you for the post!

[ROKUJURO]

David,

the TSUBA is likely made of antler (= bone, not horn), probably from Sambar deer. The "embellishments" are big scales from a kind of ray, as far as I know. The whole SAYA decoration uses common material, but the combination looks as if made from left-over stuff.
 

"SAYA" with no plura "s". Japanese nouns do not have a plural form.